VideoGamer.com Plays

A look at what we've been playing this week.

Welcome to VideoGamer.com Plays, our weekly feature where we give you the inside track on what's been whirring in our disc drives this week. We'll be honest (so if we've been playing Superman on the N64 we'll tell you). But if we've been hammering the latest billion-selling blockbuster we'll let you know about that too.

Tom Orry, Editor - Army of Two, Xbox 360 and PS3.
I've been playing a lot of Army of Two this week. Despite its considerable flaws it's an enjoyable, if rather short, action game, but at one point I couldn't help but burst out laughing. While testing the waters with the game before heading in with a friend I was playing alongside an AI partner. Things were going fine until he announced that I better watch out as there were proximity mines up ahead. He headed of up a small hill and I assumed he was going to disarm the mine. In a way he did, but his technique wasn't what you could call by the book. Running straight into the mine, it detonated and sent him flying. Somehow he survived so I guess it was job done.

Wesley Yin-Poole, Deputy Editor - Dawn of War - Soulstorm,- PC.
Addicted. Absolutely addicted. And the reason isn't to do with the fact that the geek in me loves all this future Space Marine business, or the addictive take and hold resource-based gameplay. The reason I can't stop playing Dawn of War: Soulstorm, the third and final expansion in the superb Warhammer 40k franchise, is because the unit designs, kill animations and special abilities are so damn cool I just can't get enough. I'm currently spending most of my time playing skirmishes against the computer, honing my Dark Eldar rush skills so I won't get creamed when I take the evil purple ones online. Won't be long now...

Nick Peres, Video Producer - Supreme Commander, PC.
There's nothing like a hardcore RTS to get the eyeballs stinging! I have to admit I haven't played this game nearly enough for someone that claims to be a huge fan of Total Annihilation. Regardless, I'm finding it a very enjoyable experience, and like TA I'm loving the huge unit counts on each team, the look of the vehicles and the sheer epic scale of the game. I shall be declaring battle against some friends this weekend and envisage an old-skool five-hour sit in until a victor rises. Like TA before it, Supreme Commander has a great soundtrack that is of feature film quality and well worth listening to on your personal sound boxes while hosting any party. I'll speak to you next week.

Simon Hunter, Associate Video Producer - Lost Odyssey, Xbox 360.
I approached Lost Odyssey knowing only two things: I'd need to give it 40 hours of my life and I was embarking on a reportedly tear jerking adventure. Kleenex at the ready then... Now, I'm a fairly modern, sensitive guy, so I'm quite happy to shed the odd tear or two, but nothing could have prepared me for the first of Kaim's text-based flashbacks. Text glided across the screen, accompanied by very Japanese-RPG piano music. It revealed that Kaim had a daughter - the first of many he had loved and been forced to watch die as his life endlessly continued. This particular little girl liked flowers, and there was nothing she wanted more than to see them blossom. But on the eve before such a natural splendour was set to happen, an earthquake killed the little girl. That was it for me. I mean, she liked flowers for pity's sake! How are my emotions meant to deal with that?